Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

Lingzhou, Shanling County, the stronghold of the Night Crow Bandits.

"What's going on lately? Why are there soldiers everywhere on the streets?"

"Who knows? There are searches everywhere on the streets right now, and I don't even know what they're looking for."

"Back then, that little inspector surnamed Mu from Qing'an County hooked up with a rich man and became Princess Yongning's lover. He rose to the top in one step and is now the Grand Commander of Qishan Road, with 30,000 elite troops under his command."

In other words, the mountain bandits within Qishan territory were unruly and tied up at least half of Qishan Dao's military force; otherwise, who knows how many troops this commander could have mustered.

Although Shanling County is not under the jurisdiction of Qishan Road, the governor of Lingzhou is a good-for-nothing. Even though he is a member of the Cui family, with the Qishan Road army pressing on the side, he doesn't dare to say a single word of dissent to the Grand Commander.

Look at the armor these soldiers are wearing, all made of high-quality steel, and the flags painted with mountains—these are standard equipment for the Qishan Road.

I just don't know what's wrong with this pretty boy's brain, that he actually sent troops directly into Shanling County.

Inside the dimly lit house, the five members of the Night Raven Thieves sat in their respective corners, their faces looking much more weathered than they had been seven years ago.

The fifth brother, Su Qingyu, whose face had become more wrinkled, snorted coldly and looked at the second brother, Mingshan, who had spoken with disdain.

"What's the use of complaining all this time? The soldiers of Qishan Road are right outside. There are dozens of top-notch experts in the army, and several innate grandmasters as well."

If they heard what you're saying, the five of us siblings would probably be dead without even knowing how we died.

Even after being mocked by his younger sister, the honest and simple-minded Mingshan wasn't angry. He touched his forehead and lowered his voice.

"What can we do, little sister? You know I only have this one interest. You can't stop me from complaining, can you?"

Seeing that Mingshan, who was usually simple-minded, had no intention of arguing with her, Su Qingyu felt bored and swallowed back all the words she had in her mind that could have been used to curse for half an hour.

"Seven years ago, my mother said that it was best to befriend such people, but you all turned around and started calling for their deaths."

"Now look at the situation outside. Forget about building connections; you'd be lucky to avoid being killed here."

Having heard similar things for years, the remaining four members of the Night Raven Thieves had all learned to play dumb.

Only after the soldiers passing by outside had gone far away did Li Qian, the fourth strategist, gently shake his folding fan and speak solemnly.

"What happened back then is a done deal, and there's no use in regretting it now. In comparison, the key question is what Qishan Road is trying to do with this sudden large-scale operation."

Seven years later, Minghai, the eldest brother who was still hovering at the Innate Grandmaster level, also expressed his opinion.

"According to the intelligence we received, Qishan Dao's major operation this time is to completely wipe out the demonic forces within Lingzhou, and they have made the Blood Robe Sect their main target."

These soldiers moved swiftly and ruthlessly. Once they pinpointed the cultists' location, they surrounded them with their entire army, set fire to their homes, and shot anyone who came out with arrows. They had no intention of leaving any survivors.

Seeing that they were getting down to business, Su Qingyu stopped complaining. She leaned against the wall and turned to look at Li Qian.

"As everyone knows, Qishan Road and Lingzhou Prefecture are at odds with each other and have deep-seated conflicts. In recent years, Qishan Road's power has expanded rapidly, while the imperial court, represented by the prefecture, has been shrinking."

"Brother Qian, you're the smartest. Is Qishan Dao's big move really just to wipe out the followers of the Demonic Cult?"

Seeing the four pairs of eyes looking at him at the same time, Li Qian, the fourth brother sitting in the chair, gave up his idea of ​​being the riddle teller and directly stated his plan.

"Qishan Dao's move is likely aimed at eliminating demonic forces while simultaneously demonstrating its power to the Lingzhou Prefecture."

That Grand Commander of Qishan Road is not simple, nor is he the pretty boy my second brother described. I have been to Qishan Road's territory several times over the years, and it is governed very well.

This commander is very powerful, extremely powerful. Even the Marquis of Yongning has merged his troops with the forces of Qishan Road. If Qishan Road wanted to mobilize troops now, it could easily muster 50,000 men.

These are not refugees from rebellious regions, but true elite troops in armor, a force capable of changing the course of history wherever they are deployed.

How could the imperial court not be wary of him? If this Grand Commander were to take action against the existing forces in Lingzhou now, it would be tantamount to tearing off the mask of civility. The imperial court would feel like it had a bone stuck in its throat, and would be thinking of ways to deal with him at all times.

Such a person would not be unaware of the gravity of the situation; therefore, in my opinion, Qishan Dao's dispatch of troops this time is truly only to eradicate the Demonic Sect.

After explaining his thoughts in detail, Li Qian lowered his head and began to drink his tea.

The other three fell silent, each counting ants at their feet. Only Su Qingyu frowned slightly, strode forward, and snatched the cup from Li Qian's hand.

"Drink, drink, drink! All you do all day is drink tea! What time is it? Still drinking? And you lot, are you all mute? Do you really want to die here?"

After scolding him a couple of times, Su Qingyu's tone softened slightly. She walked behind Li Qian and gently massaged his shoulders.

"Good brother, just say what you're thinking. If you keep beating around the bush like this, the five of us siblings will really die here."

My arms are a little sore.

"Little sister, let me massage you."

My legs are sore too.

"Little sister, let me massage it!"

After enjoying a comfortable massage, the pretentious Li Qian finally put down his folding fan, his tone as calm as could be.

"Recruit them!"

"Accept amnesty? How?"

"Gather all the information we know about the Demonic Cult and present it all to the Grand Commander of Qishan Dao."

Before he could finish speaking, Mingshan had already walked up to him and slammed his hand on the table.

"Isn't that surrendering? We're thieves, how can we become the court's lackeys?"

Li Qian glanced at him calmly, picked up the folding fan with his right hand, and patted Ming Shan's arm.

"This is called accepting amnesty, which is not the same as surrendering. What we need to do is not to be the court's lackeys, but to be a sharp blade for handling matters."

"What's the difference between surrendering and not surrendering? How does it become a weapon?"

The two-meter-tall, burly man felt his head buzzing and couldn't sort out his thoughts for a long time.

He recognizes each word individually, but he can't understand them when they're put together!

Su Qingyu, who was squatting down to massage Li Qian's legs, suddenly realized what was happening. She squinted her eyes and spoke in a gentle voice.

"Does Brother Qian mean we can act as a black glove for that president?"

Li Qian, who had somehow ended up in a reclining position, nodded slightly, glanced admiringly at his younger sister, and then turned to look at his eldest brother Ming Hai and third brother Wang Zhenling, who were standing together.

"Our Night Raven Bandits have a certain reputation in the martial arts world. Although we are not a first-class force, we are not far off."

More importantly, our intelligence network is extensive, and we are wanted by the imperial court, so most demonic forces are not on guard against us.

The Qishan Dao army was large and powerful, with many generals and soldiers, and abundant martial virtue, but it had a fatal flaw.

He paused slightly, and seeing that all four of them had perked up their ears, Li Qian deliberately dragged out his voice and gestured for Su Qingyu to serve him tea. After whetting their appetites, he continued speaking.

"Intelligence! The Qishan Dao's influence only extends within Lingzhou. Even the imperial court keeps its intelligence secret from them. You can't get it without paying a sufficient price. Outside of Lingzhou, they're practically blind. They can only buy intelligence."

This is our biggest bargaining chip, and it's the key to our current predicament.